Laughing at Myself With the Students

I’m not very good with names. I try, however, very hard with my students’ names because it is a simple way to connect with them and their identities.

At the end of a period’s second class with me, I was trying to stretch my brain and recall students’ names. I approached this one student and felt like the name was on the tip of my tongue….elusive….just out of reach.

The students give me a hint. It starts with “J.”

My mind is racing through all the “J” names it could recall from the various rosters: Justin, Jason, James, Jack, John….  I try one of them that doesn’t feel quite right.  It isn’t.

I pause, shaking my head, narrowing my eyes in concentration.

The students give me another hint.  It ends with “E.”

More racing. Well, stalling is more like it. “Jake” comes to mind, but I know that’s not right. Then “James.” No, no, no. No “E” at the end.  I’m stuck again.

Now my face shows confusion, so the students give me a THIRD hint (how embarrassing).

There’s an “O” in the middle.

My mind is starting to force versions of “Justin” and “Jason” that just don’t exist. I’ve got nothing.

The students are all watching me.  Quite a few are starting to giggle.  Some, I can tell are stifling full-on laughter.

I’m a bit frustrated with myself and irritated that I let this student down.

“You’re going to have to tell me. What is it,” I say.

A collective exhale of laughter: It’s “Joe.”

Another pause, as my brain calculates their hints.

I roll my eyes and start laughing with the students.

In the back of my head, I’m realizing my folly was a good moment for the class. We got to bond over something simple which can strengthen our relationships as we go through the year. We laughed. Having the classroom be a place students enjoy is important. They saw me as a person, making a mistake, laughing (and hopefully learning from said mistake).

Though unplanned, this moment we shared is like many that can happen throughout the school year which draws the members of the class together and helps to build a strong classroom culture.